Lincoln-Way East’s offense needed some momentum to put away St. Charles North on Friday night. The Griffins’ defense stiffened and gave their offense some comfort as No. 13 Lincoln-Way East defeated St. Charles North 15-7 in Frankfort.
“We weren’t pleased with ourselves on either side of the ball, and our offense couldn’t put together back-to-back drives throughout the game,” said Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar, whose team led 8-7 at halftime. “We needed our defense to step up in the second half.”
That’s when Lincoln-Way East got its boost as it held St. Charles North to 42 yards and one first down in the second half.
“I have nothing but praise for St. Charles North because we didn’t take them lightly,” Zvonar said. “We made some halftime adjustments where we forced them to run outside.”
Lincoln-Way East (2-0) had to make the adjustments after St. Charles North’s Ryan Duncan passed for 70 yards in the first half. The Griffins held Duncan to 46 passing yards in the second half. The Griffins also limited the Stars to minus-2 rushing yards after halftime.
The Griffins capped the scoring when quarterback Dustin Powell, who was 11-of-18 passing for 185 yards, finished an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown sneak. Mike Podobnik’s PAT gave the Griffins the eight-point lead with 3:44 to left in the third quarter.
St. Charles North (0-2) went three-and-out on its next three possessions but threatened in the fourth when it drove to the Griffins’ 49 with under three minutes to play. However, a sack and three incompletions by Duncan ended any comeback hopes for the Stars.
Lincoln-Way East looked to take an early lead when the Griffins began their first two possessions inside St. Charles North territory. But the Griffins fumbled away their first series on the North Stars’ 15 and then missed a 32-yard field goal after again driving to the 15.
After that miss, St. Charles North went ahead 7-0 after chewing 8:39 off the clock with a 17-play, 80-yard drive. Duncan scored on a 4-yard bootleg with 5:48 to go in the half.
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Lincoln-Way East answered with a five-minute drive, moving 66 yards on 15 plays before back Greg Gerritsen plunged 2 yards for a touchdown with 36 seconds left in the half.
Henry Del Valle.
Up next for Lincoln-Way East: Saturday at No. 12 Thornton.
1. Downers Grove South
T.J. Fuller rushed for two touchdowns and caught a 41-yard TD pass from Mike Sharp as the top-ranked Mustangs (2-0) defeated Proviso West 48-6.
Erick Newman ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries for Downers South, which scored 41 points in the second quarter. Dustin Szczepaniak paced the Mustangs’ defense with two interceptions.
Sheron Harmon connected with Robert Smith on a 16-yard touchdown pass for Proviso West (0-2). Harmon passed for 154 yards on 12-of-32 passing.
Up next: Friday at Hinsdale South.
6. Hinsdale Central
Brad Bower was 9-of-11 passing for 168 yards and two touchdowns and also scored on a 69-yard run as the Red Devils (2-0) romped by Addison Trail 42-0. Brian Grzelakowski rushed for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Hinsdale Central has not allowed a point this season.
Addison Trail drops to 0-2.
Up next: Friday at Downers Grove North.
8. Naperville North
Corey McKeon rushed for two touchdowns and returned an interception 98 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the first half as the Huskies (2-0) blew out St. Charles East 46-7. McKeon ran for 57 yards on six carries.
Mike Constantino also had three TDs–two rushing and one receiving. St. Charles East, which trailed 33-7 at half, drops to 0-2.
Up next: Friday at No. 4 Wheaton North.
10. Carmel
Running back Brandon Ziemann scored on a 64-yard run in the second quarter as the Corsairs (2-0) scored all 28 points in the second quarter as Carmel defeated St. Patrick 28-6 at Hanson Stadium. Ziemann finished with 14 carries, 117 yards and two touchdowns.
St. Patrick (0-2) could muster only a late 2-yard touchdown run from Jacob Kozio to avoid the shutout.
Up next: Sept. 14 vs. No. 3 Mt. Carmel at Gately Stadium.
11. Hubbard
Demetrice Williams rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns as the Greyhounds (2-0) pounded Crane 48-0. Hubbard’s dominance began on its first play from scrimmage as Jeff Franklin hit Kevin Anderson on an 82-yard scoring pass. The Greyhounds scored on six of their first 10 offensive plays.
Hubbard held Crane (1-1) to 24 yards from scrimmage and two first downs. Chris Patterson led the Greyhounds’ defense with six tackles, including two for losses.
Up next: Saturday vs. Kelly at Eckersall Stadium.
14. Richards
Dion Foster rushed for 195 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (2-0) to a 35-28 victory over No. 18 Morgan Park.
See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday at Reavis.
15. Morris
Orlando Lemus scored four touchdowns, including one on a 63-yard punt return as the Redskins (2-0) rolled 35-6 over Sycamore in the Suburban Prairie White contest. Benjy Kennedy passed for 129 yards for Morris.
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See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday at home vs. Westmont.
16. Lake Park
It was one of those nights for Lake Park. In beating Sandburg 34-0 in a non-conference game in Orland Park, even when the Lancers did something wrong, it turned out right.
Already ahead 27-0 heading into the third quarter, the No. 16 Lancers (2-0) had a TD pass of 67 yards and a scoring run of 72 yards on successive plays called back on penalties. Two plays later, Joey Albin (9-for-20, 212 yards) tossed a 56-yard scoring pass to Dave Hochstetter. It was the fourth TD strike of the night for Albin and summed up a dreary, dismal night for the host Eagles (0-2).
Albin’s scoring passes included two to Chris Jenks, for 21 and 9 yards, and an 18-yard strike to Hochstetter (12 rushes, 47 yards), all in the first half as Lake Park scored on four of its six first-half possessions.
Mike Menotti (14 rushes, 64 yards) scored on a 2-yard run 7:25 into the contest for Lake Park’s only non-passing touchdown.
Sandburg was frustrated throughout the night, thanks in part to continual harassment from Kwame Agyeman, Doug DiBasilio and Ronnie Lindahl. By the end of the first half, Sandburg had totaled just 29 offensive yards. Lake Park, in turn, piled up 384. The Eagles totaled just 51 yards on the night while quarterbacks Tomgan and James Ward combined to go 11-of-39 for 87 yards and two interceptions.
Phil English.
Up next: Friday at St. Charles North.
18. Morgan Park
Brandon Bradbury caught five passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mustangs (1-1) in a 35-28 loss to No. 14 Richards.
See story, Back Page.
Up next: Friday vs. Fenger at Gately.